LOAC2018

Our 9th Annual Conference

March 12th and 13th

Rishad Tobaccowala is the Chief Growth Officer of the Publicis Groupe, an 80,000-employee firm comprising companies like Sapient Razorfish, DigitasLBi, Leo Burnett, Saatchi and Saatchi, Starcom, Zenith and many other companies dedicated to delivering marketing and business transformation. Rishad also serves on the Publicis Management Committee.

In his current role Rishad is responsible for supporting the leaders of the largest global Clients of Publicis Groupe to help their Clients grow in a transformative time and drives the global business development efforts of the firm.

Between July 2016 and June 2017 Rishad played a dual role of Strategy and Growth Officer of the Groupe adding the Growth role to his Strategy functions.

Between 2014 and 2016 Rishad was the Chief Strategist of the Publicis Groupe during which in tandem with the global CEO he helped drive the new strategy of the Groupe to move from a marketing communication to a marketing and business transformation firm and informed the re-organization of the Groupe from an Agency brand centric to a Client centric organization called the Power of One.

Prior to his Chief Strategist role, Rishad was the Chairman of DigitasLBi and Razorfish, two of the largest marketing transformation agencies in the world with over 11000 employees.

Over his 35-year career Tobaccowala has worked across almost every area of marketing including brand advertising, media, database, direct and interactive marketing. As a pioneer in digital marketing, Tobaccowala helped create one of the first interactive groups and digital agencies 20 years ago and has helped launch a series of initiatives over the years from groups focused on gaming, social, mobile and search engine marketing. Starcom IP, Play, Giant Step, SMG Search and Denuo are some of the brands Tobaccowala helped incubate.

Tobaccowala was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators. He is the Ad Age Interactive Hall of Fame and has received a life time achievement silver medal award from the Chicago Ad Federation.

He serves on the board of Matomy an Israeli based outcome based digital performance company and an advisor to a host of companies in the venture capital and start up space include Greycroft Ventures, Abundant Ventures and Jana Mobile. Previous board roles include Audience Science and Snap (an Idealab company).

Rishad is also is chairman of The Tobaccowala Foundation, which helps over 10,000 people gain better access to health and education in India.

Rishad is a prolific writer and speaker. His Re-inventing blog is read by Clients and the Industry to better understand the changes roiling marketing and business. Speaking engagements include key notes at major Client and Industry conferences as well as at Google and Facebook.

Tobaccowala holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Bombay and an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago with which he remains closely involved.

What is LOAC 2018

The 9th Annual Local Online Advertising Conference returns to The Grand Hyatt New York March 12-13! Join hundreds of industry leaders at the largest gathering of local digital media executives. With a slate of more than three dozen executive-level speakers and an exclusively "local" flavor, the agenda addresses critical trends affecting the industry.

What Can You Expect from #LOAC2018?

Sophisticated and fast-growing digital marketing businesses are emerging in many localities. These companies aren’t experimenting anymore. They’re mining the opportunity here and now, developing serious, profitable businesses. They're in the top 1% of revenue performers, getting up to 10x the average share of their Addressable Digital Market. You'll meet them at #LOAC2018.

2018 Local Online Advertising Conference

Mature & Profitable Business Models Emerge

Preliminary session descriptions

Opening Session: Picking WinnersWho’s winning? Who’s losing? How can you tell? In his inimitable way, Gordon Borrell sets the scene for LOAC2018 by offering a no-holds-barred, fresh perspective on the local marketing landscape. Always the highest-rated session of the entire conference!Speaker: Gordon Borrell, CEO, Borrell Associates

Opening Keynote- The Future of Advertising Doesn’t Fit in the Containers of the Past

What will happen to advertising media headed in a world that’s increasingly becoming driven by DIY marketing technology? And what role can local media play in this new environment? Rishad Tobaccowala, one of the industries’ leading strategists, foresees not only challenges, but also great opportunities – a future where the market opportunity is actually two to three times bigger than some may envision. Speaker: Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Group

Key Topics

In addition to featuring key executives from best-practice companies in the local digital marketing space, #LOAC2018 will select front-line managers who will address best practices for:

Local Programmatic Advertising

Video Advertising

Selling SEM/SEO

Packaging Digital Services

The Best OTT Strategy for 'Local'

How Local Shops Get On the Map with Waze

Facebook's Latest Plan for Local News

Rapid-Fire Case Studies

These are typically the highest-rated sessions of the conference. Two 40-minute sessions – one on Monday and one on Tuesday – feature more than a dozen 5-minute money-making case studies. New for 2018: The Center for Sales Strategy has agreed to help select case studies, prep speakers, and manage these fast-paced sessions.

Track Sessions

Two track sessions Monday afternoon offer topical drill-downs on issues affecting local digital ventures. Each track has five 45-minute sessions designed to be interactive with the audience. Have suggestions for our 2018 track sessions? Email us at info@borrellassociates.com and propose something. But do it soon -- we typically set the agenda in early October.

Venue

Grand Hyatt NYC

Place yourself in the heart of "The City That Never Sleeps" at Grand Hyatt New York. Our prime location on the fashionable East Side, adjacent to Grand Central, puts the city's top attractions including Times Square, Broadway theaters, Central Park and Fifth Avenue's world-class shopping - and major businesses just steps from our midtown Manhattan hotel.